


A Vampire in Iowa

by 68hawkeye_fan



Series: Originals & SHIELD Agents [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Originals (TV)
Genre: BAMF Laura Barton, BAMF Wanda Maximoff, Gen, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29262141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/68hawkeye_fan/pseuds/68hawkeye_fan
Summary: Laura Barton always thought that her husband couldn't keep secrets from her. As it turns out, he is quite capable of doing so. It is only that she would rather not have known this particular secret.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Elijah Mikaelson, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Elijah Mikaelson & Laura Barton
Series: Originals & SHIELD Agents [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918066
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've got a week off, it's still lockdown and there is a blizzard outside. What better time to get started with Part 3 of Originals & SHIELD Agents.

Laura pushed the shopping cart with Nathaniel through the aisles while she did her weekly shopping. Clint had this time stayed home to complete some of his renovations. He was done with the winter garden he had built for her and where only a few finishing touches were missing before he would proudly present it to her. She hadn't entered the winter garden in the past three weeks lest she did not spoil his surprise.

She was glad that he felt safe enough again to let her go into town alone. After the revelation that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD, he had barely let her and the children out of his sight or let them go somewhere alone. She knew how paranoid Clint could get, but he had more than enough reason for it, so she accepted it.

Finally she finished and went to the register. In front of her stood a gentleman who, in his fine suit, caused quite a stir in the shopping centre. Many women stood whispering together and stared openly at the man. She couldn't see his face, but Shirley, who was at the cash register today, had a blushed face and flirted intensive with him, so Laura assumed he was quite handsome.

Laura listened with amusement as he politely responded to Shirley’s flirt attempts, neither giving her false hopes nor made her feeling bad. His voice was a baritone and his way of speaking was very cultured.

Laura cast a curious look at his shopping basket. It was filled with food that was long-lasting and didn't need refrigeration, in short, what someone would buy who was just passing through and had still a long drive ahead.

When he paid, she could finally see his profile. No wonder that all the women were so excited and Shirley had flirted so shamelessly. If she weren't married, she'd flirt with him too.

He packed up his purchases and left the shopping centre. Like all the other women in the shopping centre she followed him with their eyes, all of them watching his backside. The gossip of the town would certainly go into overdrive for the next few days. But where all the other women only noticed his look, she registered that he moved like Clint and Natasha, like a trained fighter.

When Laura left the shopping centre less than five minutes later, the man was sitting on the trunk of a Bentley and was eating a burger, which he must have gotten from the fast-food stand, which stood in front of the shopping centre. She could understand that he didn't want to eat the burger in the car. Who would want ketchup and other stains on the upholstery of such an expensive car?

Laura let habitually roam her eyes the parking lot as she walked to her car to look for anything abnormal, as Clint had taught her. She noticed three men getting out of a car that was a row behind her car. Clint had once shown her how to recognize enemy agents and the three men were very noticeable in their inconspicuousness.

Normally she would put Nathaniel in the car first before putting her shopping in the trunk, but this time she decided to do it the other way around. She placed the shopping cart so that she could keep an eye on the men while she packed her purchases in the trunk. She saw how the men were hanging around their car and her bad feeling got stronger every minute.

Eventually only her handbag and Nathaniel were left and she brought the shopping cart back. When she turned around, she saw the three men walking towards her. She looked indecisively at the entrance to the shopping centre. Clint had told her to mingle with people when she felt threatened, but she didn't want to overreact either.

Laura took Nathaniel out of the shopping cart and juggled her handbag at the same time.

When she looked up, stood the gentleman in the fine suit in front of her. She started back, startled, and lost her hold of Nathaniel, but before he could slip out of her grasp, the man had caught him.

“I have him, miss. Forgive me, this is my fault, I didn't mean to scare you.” The voice was calm and when Laura looked into his eyes, she was reminded of Phil. Both men exuded the same strength, calmness and serenity.

“Thank you, Mr.?”

“Elijah Mikaelson.” The man waited patiently for her to calm down before holding out Nathaniel to her. Normally Nathaniel would have screamed and cried, disturbed by being held like this by a stranger, but he just looked wide-eyed at the man who returned the look. “He reminds me of my niece, they are the same age.”

Laura now noticed that Elijah was holding the toddler as if he had practice. “Do you babysit her often?” She asked in amusement and took back Nathaniel.

“Yes, both my brother and their mother often ask me if I can take care of her, when they are busy with something else.” The voice was equally amused. “Would you like me to walk you to your car, miss?” Elijah‘s eyes went cold as he watched the three men who had now stopped.

So it was no accident that he had approached her. “My name is Laura. Thank you very much, Elijah, I would really appreciate that.”

Laura started walking and immediately noticed, how Elijah kept himself between her and the men. He stopped by her car and held her handbag until she had put Nathaniel in his baby seat and buckled him up. Then he opened the driver's door for her and waited patiently for her to buckle herself up before handing her the handbag.

“Thank you, Elijah!” Laura smiled at him.

“It's been my pleasure, Mrs. Barton!”

Laura froze before looking at him inconspicuously. From the amused twinkle in his eyes she saw that it was no accident that he called her by her last name, which she hadn't even mentioned to him.

“Give Clint my regards and tell him to get in touch with me.” Without waiting for her answer, he closed the car door.

The last thing Laura saw as she pulled out of the parking lot was him walking towards the three men who were going back to their car.

On the way back to the farm, Laura kept looking in the rear-view mirror, but no car followed her, neither the three men's car nor the Bentley.

*****

Clint was waiting for her when she drove into the farm yard. When she got out, he only had to take a look at her face before he approached her in alarm. “What happened?”

“Nothing actually, but I've had a strange encounter with a man and I'm not sure if he is a friend or an enemy.” Laura took a deep breath as she put her feelings into words.

“Tell me later. Firstly, take Nathaniel and go inside!” Clint scanned the grounds warily. “I bring the purchases!”

Laura did what Clint said. He was clearly in agent mode now, prepared for anything.

While Clint was helping her putting the groceries on the shelves, she told him what had happened and the way Elijah had deliberately revealed that he knew who she was. However, she did not say his name yet. Clint had taught her to leave names out of reporting like this so he'd only have the facts.

Clint frowned. “Interesting! I would almost say that he wanted to protect you and was on your side. What did you feel about him?”

Laura hesitated for a moment. “He reminded me of Phil. I mean, he had brown eyes but he had the same charisma.” She saw Clint freeze.

“Did he tell you his name?” He asked in a husky voice.

“Yes, Elijah Mikaelson.” Laura watched with interest as her husband turned pale. “So he is an enemy after all?”

“No, it’s not that!” Clint hesitated. “But he's a very dangerous man.” Clint laughed strangely. “Think Natasha and multiply it by 1000!”

Laura was now pale too, albeit for different reasons. “You are joking, right?”

“I wish I were.” Clint sat at the kitchen table. “He saved my life. Without him, I would not have survived New York.”

Now Laura sat down too. “You never told me about this”, she said dazedly.

“I couldn’t. I promised him, I wouldn't tell anyone about him, but if he introduces himself to you like that...” Clint broke off. “What else did he say?”

Laura repeated the last sentence word for word, Elijah had said to her.

Clint frowned. “Hmm, strange! Did he hold your shopping bags?”

“No, but he did...” Laura broke off, her gaze fixed on her handbag. “He was holding my handbag.” She stood up and got the handbag, which content she then spilled on the kitchen table. Besides her cell phone, there was now a second cell phone on the table, she picked it up. “That is not mine!”

Clint took it from her and examined it. “It's a burner phone with only one number.” He dialled the number and when his call was answered he just said: “Hello, Elijah!”

He listened to what Elijah said to him. Laura could only hear an indistinct male voice, but no words.

“Yes, you can come.” Clint listened. “Yes, I will make sure of it! What about Laura?” Clint hesitated for a moment. “You know that I have to explain afterwards a few things to her when she hears what we're talking about.” Laura saw relief in Clint's eyes in reaction to Elijah’s answer. “Thank you, Elijah! Until this evening!” Clint hung up.

“What's the matter, Clint?” Laura asked calmly.

“Can Cooper and Lila stay with friends tonight?” Clint asked hoarse.

“It is certainly possible. Are we in danger?”

“No, not directly.” Clint looked thoughtful. “I just don't want them to hear what we speak about tonight.” He looked at her seriously. “Elijah gave me permission to explain some things to you afterwards, but I want to warn you beforehand, it will deeply shake your view on the world.”

“Can it be more surprising than aliens and Hydra?” Laura asked dryly.

Clint laughed strangely. “Oh, believe me, you would be surprised!”

And Laura felt a shiver run down her spine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter. Please tell me if you like it!

So that was Laura Barton, Clint was a very lucky man.

After their meeting in New York Elijah had instructed some of his people to keep an eye on Clint. On the one hand, to be sure that he kept his promise, but also to make sure that Clint was not threatened by anything supernatural.

The discovery that Clint was married and had children had taken Elijah really by surprise. Especially since his people had had a very really difficult time in the beginning with tracking Clint down.

After this business with Ultron, and Clint’s retirement, Elijah had instructed his sources in SHIELD to keep their ears open on anything that could get dangerous to Clint and his family. 

After the disclosure of Hydra, Elijah had checked this contacts in SHIELD to see if any of them were also Hydra. Those who were, suffered a surprising and fatal accident, but only after they told Elijah everything they knew. 

According to his sources, who kept an eye on him, Clint had been accompanying his wife to the shopping since the Hydra reveal. Elijah had originally only planned to show himself to Clint and then wait and see how he would react. But because Laura had come alone, he had to improvise.

And the appearance of the three men had thrown his planning completely overboard. Now it was time to learn what their plans were.

Elijah approached the men. They wanted to get into their car, but when they saw him coming, they waited. “Hello gentlemen. I couldn't help but notice that you showed a certain interest in the lady and her son. What exactly wanted you with them?”

“Mind your own business!” The oldest of the men glared at him. “You didn't do yourself a favour by interfering and playing the hero.”

Elijah smiled slightly. “That remains to be seen!” Elijah used his skills and compelled the men. “You will now get in your car, turn right and drive onto the highway. Three miles from here is a forest path on the left side, you will drive to the end of the path. Wait for me there and we'll have a nice chat. And if you still want to, you can teach me a lesson.” Elijah smiled arrogantly.

All three men monotonously repeated the instructions Elijah had given them, then got in and drove away. Elijah waited a few more minutes, then followed them. It was no doubt going to be an interesting conversation, and depending on what the men said, it would be their last too.

Elijah stared dispassionately at the bodies of the three men. As it turned out, they had been assigned to kidnap Laura and the child. But they didn't know for whom or why and the instructions they had received, made it impossible for Elijah to catch the employers.

When he asked if they wanted to still execute their assignment, they had answered with yes, which left for Elijah only one option. He couldn't allow Clint's family to be threatened further by these three men.

He put the dead men in the car and then set it on fire. Unlike Niklaus, he didn't like leaving evidence, if it wasn’t necessary. Then he rushed back to his Bentley, which he'd left in a parking lot, because he didn't want to leave any tire tracks on the soft forest floor.

Just as he wanted to start the car, his cell phone rang and Clint greeted him over the phone. “Hello, Elijah.”

“Hello, Clint”, Elijah said calmly. “I regret this unusual form of contacting you, but it is very important that we talk to each other. However, I don't want to be seen, so I wouldn't arrive until after dark. Would that be acceptable for you?”

Elijah was relieved by Clint’s consent to his request.

“Further I would prefer if your children are not around. They don't need to hear what we're discussing. Is it possible that they could sleep somewhere else tonight? And that we will not be disturbed in any way?”

That Clint after his agreement asked about Laura, didn't come as a surprise to Elijah, he had expected it. “Yes, she can be present and you can answer her questions after our meeting. I’m certain she will have a lot of questions. Until this evening!”

Elijah hung up. He had a few phone calls to make before it got dark.

xxxxx

The closer it got to sunset, the more nervous Clint got. He walked again and again to the kitchen window, to stare out.

Lila and Cooper had been surprised, but very pleased that they could spend the night with friends. It had not escaped them, too, that their father had been very concerned for their safety over the past few months.

They were picked up by the parents of their respective friends so that only the two adults and Nathaniel were in the house.

Laura fed Nathaniel and watched Clint, who was standing at the window again. “Is there anything you want to tell me beforehand?”

“It could be dangerous, maybe you should go too!”

Laura snorted. “You know very well that by now I'm far too curious to leave.”

“Yes I know! But I also know that if Elijah is hostile to us, there is nothing I can do to save you or Nathaniel.” Clint looked so serious and worried it made Laura's stomach turn.

“Do you think he is hostile to us?” She asked softly.

“Not really, but I can't offer you guarantees for your safety either.”

“Then that's enough for me! I want to be honest.” Laura smiled slyly. “He's damn handsome. If I weren't married, I'd be tempted to get to know him better.”

Clint chuckled in amusement and not the least bit jealous. “Let's see if you will say that too, when you know more about him!”

“Do you think the three men will follow me to the farm?” Laura asked contemplative.

A strange expression crossed Clint’s face. “To put it this way, if they intended to harm you, we certainly don't need to worry about them anymore. Elijah will have taken care of them, drastic and permanently.”

“He would kill them? But he is alone!” Laura grew suddenly suspicious. “Or can it be that he recruited them so that he can appear to me as my hero in shining armour? How else would he have received a permission to visit us?”

Clint chuckled. “No, he doesn't need to. If he wanted your trust, he would simply ask for it and you would give it to him.”

“I seriously doubt that, I don’t trust strangers so easily.” Laura was a little outraged.

“I do not mean it like that! Laura, Elijah is a 084, he has certain abilities that allow him to influence people so that they will do anything he wants.” Clint didn't want to go more into detail until Laura got to know Elijah better.

“I see”, said Laura calmly. “Does SHIELD know about him?”

“No, I kept our encounter in New York to myself. Had Phil been alive I would have had a hard time keeping his secret, but I never liked Sitwell.” Clint laughed grimly. “And in retrospect, I'm very relieved that I kept it to myself. When I think about what Hydra could have achieved with Elijah or someone like him...” Clint fell silent, he didn't want to think about it.

“Couldn't it be that he influenced you to remain silent?” Laura was worried about her husband.

“No, he didn't, because I can remember everything and talk about it if I want.” Clint sounded absolutely certain and Laura believed him.

“Sit down, Clint, we'll hear when he drives his car into the yard.” Laura felt her husband's nervousness slowly infecting her as well, she had never seen him this edgy.

“He won't come by car but on foot.” Clint remained at the window.

“It's quite a long walk from the street, he will need at least an hour.” Laura was surprised.

Clint was showing the same strange expression as before. “No, he will be much faster, and he won't even break a sweat.”

Laura wasn’t used to her husband being so mysterious to her, even about Budapest and his first meeting with Natasha he had spoken more open.

It was completely dark when there was a polite knock on the kitchen door.

Clint took a deep breath and opened the door. Elijah stood there and smiled at him. Clint was a little surprised. To an immortal vampire who didn't age, Elijah seemed older and more tired. The past few years must have been as exhausting for Elijah as for him.

“Hello Elijah. I never thought I'd see you again.” Clint moved to the side so that Elijah could come in but Elijah made no move to enter the house. 

“Don't you want to invite me into your house, Clint?” Elijah asked calmly.

Clint at first frowned in confusion, but then his face brightened. “Let me guess, this is another thing, which Buffy had gotten correct, isn't it?”

Laura didn't understand what Clint was getting at. Buffy? She and Clint had watched the vampire series and liked it.

Elijah smiled gently. “Yes, they did! But I'll tell you one thing right away, there is no magic spell. Once I've been invited in your house, there is nothing that cancels this invitation."

“Come in, Elijah”, Clint only replied and Elijah entered the Bartons' house with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing is going well so here is already the third chapter. I'm already working on the next one.

Elijah stopped in front of Laura, holding a bottle of wine in his hand. “As a small gift and as an apology for the way we met each other.”

Laura took the bottle. When she glanced at the year, in which the bottle was bottled, she shot Elijah a look of disbelief. “Thank you very much, Elijah. And please, call me Laura." She put the bottle quite reverently on the table.

The two men greeted each other with a handshake.

“Have a seat, Elijah”, Clint told him.

For a few minutes the three of them made small talk, while Laura made coffee and served the cake, which she had baked specially at the afternoon.

Elijah ate the cake with pleasure. "It tastes very good, Laura."

"Thank you, Elijah." Laura had now the opportunity to get to know Elijah, if she wasn't afraid and decided that she liked him.

“What did you find out about the three men?” Clint asked calmly, after Elijah had finished the first piece of cake.

“They were hired to kidnap Laura and your son”, Elijah replied equally calmly.

Laura took a deep breath, despite everything a little shocked by this answer.

“I suppose, they are no longer a threat to my family?” Clint was angry, he really didn't like it when someone threatened his wife and his children.

“No, not anymore, but unfortunately they didn't know anything about their clients”, explained Elijah, who recognized this facial expression. He and his siblings used a similar one, if someone threatened their family.

“Are they the reason you came to me?” Clint asked curiously.

“No, I came for a different reason.” Elijah hesitated for a moment. “I have a confession to make. After we met in New York, I put people on you, and that's how I found out about your family. My people had two tasks. One was to control if you keep your promise to me, and the other to ensure your safety against threats that are more from the unusual sort.”

“You mean threats that are coming from your corner of the world?” Clint asked carefully. He didn't know what to think about this admission from Elijah.

“Yes, I do. I've always had sources in SHIELD since its foundation. After we met, I instructed them to let me know if you got in trouble in any way.”

“SHIELD Agents take orders from you?” Laura asked in astonishment. She had met enough SHIELD agents to know that they would never take orders from outsiders.

Elijah smiled at Laura. “I can be very persuasive. Neither of them remember usually that they work for me too. They only remember and contact me when something happens that might be of interest to me or when certain situations arise that I have specified to them beforehand.”

“I assume these situations relate to incidents involving your species?” Clint asked unmoved, while Laura looked slightly shaken.

Elijah inclined his head. “As I said when we first met, I must protect the weaker of my people. After Hydra exposed themselves, I checked my contacts in SHIELD for their loyalty.”

Clint took notice. “And?”

“About a third of them were Hydra.” Elijah’s voice was grave.

Clint swore softly. “Can you give me a list of names of those, who are loyal to SHIELD?”

Elijah pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and pushed it over to Clint, who opened it immediately and scanned the names. 

Relief showed on Clint’s face as he saw many familiar names on the list. “What about the Hydra agents?” 

Another sheet of paper was pushed across the table.

“I interrogated them one by one at length about everything they knew about Hydra.” Elijah now pulled out a whole wad of papers and pushed them over to Clint as well. “The information is complete, but some of it could be out of date. I wanted to keep your family's risk as low as possible, so I collected everything before I came to you. There are just a few things that I have let out pertaining to my and other species that SHIELD should never know about.”

“What happened to the Hydra agents?” Laura asked curiously, ignoring all the vague references to other species for the moment.

“They all had very unfortunate and fatal accidents.” Elijah made a disgusted face. “I really don’t like Nazis! The Second World War is not one of my favourite time periods I had to live through.”

“The Second World War?” Laura asked weakly.

Clint looked questioningly at Elijah, who nodded. “Elijah is over 1000 years old, Laura.”

Laura looked at her husband with open mouth. “1000 years?” She looked at Elijah confused, who smiled at her in amusement. “What are you, an alien?”

“No, I am not alien, I was born on Earth. I am supernatural, a vampire, an Original”, Elijah readily explained.

Laura looked uncertain again at Clint, who nodded affirmative. “He's telling the truth, I saw it. I saw what he could do to the Chitauri. If it wasn't for him, they would have killed me.”

“Thank you for rescuing my husband.” Laura looked solemnly at Elijah.

“It was my pleasure.”

Clint began to flip through the pages, reading them sketchily. “Damn, how am I supposed to explain where I got this information from?”

Elijah smirked. “I am sure you will think of something.”

Clint glared a little exasperated at Elijah. “I will forward it to the right places and tell them that all of it is legit and true. Don't you wanna check me out if I'm Hydra?”

Elijah laughed. “I think that's unnecessary. I've watched your reactions.”

“Also, I think it's my turn to get a few answers.” Laura glared at her husband.

Clint looked again at Elijah, who nodded in agreement and Clint told Laura about his two encounters with the Original.

“Wow”, Laura finally said, dazed. “And I always thought you couldn't keep secrets from me.”

Clint looked guilty. “I'm sorry Laura, but I just wanted to protect you. I was of the opinion that it is a secret, which should only be told, when there is no other choice.”

Laura put a hand on Clint’s cheek. “I understand and it's okay. I suppose, it will cost me a couple of sleepless nights.” She looked at him sternly. “I just hope that's the only secret that you keep from me.”

“I promise you”, Clint replied, pulling her hand from his cheek and kissing the back of her hand.

Elijah watched them longing and a little jealously. He thought about Hayley, about what she might doing right now.

After a few seconds everyone came back to the matter at hand.

“Are you going to tell someone about the farm?” Clint asked worried.

“No, no one, and I will not tell my siblings either”, Elijah assured him immediately.

“Your siblings?” Clint looked interested. “Did you save them?”

“As it turned out, Niklaus lied to me.” Elijah scowled. “By the way, we made up. But sometimes I wonder, why I always forgive him.”

Clint was surprised. “I'm glad for you”, he said sincerely. “And thank you! Besides you, only Natasha, Fury and the Avengers know about my family and I asked them, to keep my family a secret.”

Elijah frowned. “Does Tony Stark know about your family too?”

“Yes?” said Clint half-questioning.

“I think that was a big mistake.” Elijah looked troubled. “You should never have given him this kind of knowledge. He will use this knowledge, if he needs some kind of leverage against you, because he wants to take revenge for something on you or if it serves his purposes.”

“Only a very bad person would do that.” Laura was apprehensive. Stark had appeared to her as a self-righteous idiot, who was nowhere near as clever as he thought and who was only interested in himself. But she did not want to believe that he would in this way arbitrarily endanger her and her three children.

Elijah snorted contemptuously. “Well, he's certainly not a good person!”

“Elijah is not a fan of Stark”, said Clint dryly.

“That is clearly evident.” Laura was amused. “I am not a fan from him either!”

“Your wife has taste and knowledge about human nature”, said Elijah unruffled.

“Well, she married me.” Clint grinned widely and Laura poked him in the side.

Elijah watched them entertained before he suddenly raised his head. “Are you expecting visitors?”

Clint frowned. “No, not that I know of!”

“I passed on to the town gossip pipeline that Clint and I want to spend a nice private evening together. Nobody of the townsfolks will bother us!” Laura said confidently.

Suddenly Elijah was standing in a corner of the kitchen, where nobody couldn’t see him from the outside at first.

Laura blinked in amazement, she hadn't even seen him get up.

“Elijah is much faster than you or me.” For a moment, Clint looked wistful. “I wonder what Pietro would have thought about him. I think, he would have challenged him to a race.”

Clint had also gotten up and was now holding a pistol in his hand, which he had gotten from somewhere. When it knocked, he looked first at Elijah, then at his wife and child.

Elijah nodded reassuringly. If it was a dangerous visitor, he would get Clint's family to safety first.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and for your Kudos.
> 
> I'm already working on Part Four, which deals with Civil War from Laura's point of view.
> 
> And just in case that is not yet apparent, I am Anti-Accords and completely Team Captain America *lol

Clint went to the door and opened it, holding the hand with the gun behind his back.

Elijah saw how Clint relaxed but he didn't let up in his vigilance.

“Wanda, I didn't expect you today.” Clint was undecided. He didn't want to turn Wanda away, but he didn't think it was a good idea for Wanda and Elijah to meet each other either. Who could know, what impressions Wanda, with her special abilities, would get about Elijah?

“Am I inconveniencing you?” Wanda looked sad and Clint couldn't bring himself to turn her away.

“Come in, Wanda”, he said gently. “But before you come in, you have to promise me something. I have an old friend visiting me and I would be grateful if you never tell anyone about him.” Clint noticed that Wanda was a little confused about his request.

“Of course, Clint”, Wanda said immediately. “I promise it!”

Clint stood aside and let Wanda in. When he turned around, Elijah sat already back in his place at the table. But before he could introduce Elijah, he saw how Wanda raised her hands and red clouds swirled around them, as it only happened when she wanted to use her skills.

Clint pressed Wanda's hands down. “Stop it, Wanda!”

Wanda uttered a few words in her mother tongue that Clint couldn't understand. But Elijah seemed to understand her because he answered in the same language.

“People, English please!” Clint said, a little annoyed.

“He is a monster, a...” Again Wanda used a word that Clint couldn't understand. He looked uncertainly at Elijah, who shrugged his shoulders.

“She knows what I am”, he said only succinctly. Elijah found the young woman interesting, he could feel her power.

“I understand.” Clint turned back to Wanda. “I know what he is, Wanda. And I knew it before I invited him to my house. He told me beforehand what that means and that he would otherwise not be able to enter my house.”

Wanda looked at Clint in bewilderment. “But he's one of the Old Ones. He's incredibly dangerous.”

Clint chuckled. “I know that too! I've seen him fight against the Chitauri, they didn’t stand a chance.” 

The red clouds around Wanda’s hands disappeared but she regarded Elijah still warily. “Which of them are you?”

“I am Elijah.”

“The one, who they call the Noble One?” Wanda asked a little calmer.

“That is, what they call me”, Elijah replied blankly. He so hated this term because he knew, that he was a monster, he had never denied it or pretended to be anything else.

“He brought me important information about Hydra. He also thwarted an attempted kidnapping this afternoon. Whoever is behind it, they were after Laura and Nathaniel.”

Wanda's eyes glowed red before returning to their normal eye colour. “I understand”, she said, and sat down.

Clint got another cup of coffee and set it down before Wanda.

“Would you like a piece of cake, too, Wanda?” Laura asked soothingly, she had been quiet the entire time.

“You are okay with him, Laura?” asked Wanda. She had realized pretty quickly that Laura’s instinct for people should not be underestimated.

“Yes I am.” Laura smiled softly. “I like him!”

“You know that he can compel people?” Wanda asked.

“Yes, Clint explained everything to me”, Laura confirmed again.

Wanda raised her hands and red clouds swirled around Clint and Laura’s heads, after a few seconds she relaxed. “Neither of you is compelled”, she said relieved. “Yes, I would like a piece of cake”, she replied to Laura’s original question.

Laura gave her one. She had to admit that she felt a lot more comfortable after Wanda's confirmation.

Clint gave Wanda time to calm down. “What happened?” He then asked gently.

“My training is challenging.” Wanda hesitated. “And sometimes I don't feel comfortable in the training centre.”

“That's understandable”, said Clint compassionate.

“I keep thinking of Pietro, especially when I see the coverage on TV.” Wanda wringed her hands.

“Yeah, it's interesting how it's made up as if all of the Avengers were responsible for creating Ultron, nobody mentions Tony Stark in any way, which I find very fascinating”, Clint said ironically.   
Stark was lucky that he was no longer with the Avengers, otherwise he would have given him a piece of his mind. Steve was sometimes just too nice, he should have spoken up about Stark’s massive and sole responsibility for the creation of Ultron. It would have been a whole new feeling for Stark to take responsibility for his crimes.

“He is such a...” Wanda uttered another word in her mother language and Elijah chuckled.

“I don't think I want to know what you just said”, Clint said dryly. “By the way, Elijah doesn't like Tony Stark either.”

Elijah chuckled again. “It wasn't a compliment”, he confirmed Clint’s suspicion with a smile.

Wanda looked at Elijah a lot friendlier. “Well, that clearly speaks for him.”

“Elijah, why did Wanda call you the Noble One?” Laura asked fascinated.

“There are many stories about his family in my country, almost all of them are horrible”, said Wanda and looked at Elijah, who remained quiet. “He's the only one, who gets at least some positive mentions. The one, they call the Hybrid, is an absolute psychopath, there are no good stories about him.”

“She means Niklaus”, explained Elijah amused.

“Oh, I'm not surprised”, said Clint laconically.

“You met the hybrid and are still alive?” Wanda asked, aghast.

“Yes, it was a few months before New York.” Clint grimaced. “It was an unpleasant encounter. Elijah saved Phil, Natasha and me, not only against Niklaus but there was also an attack through other vampires. It was eye-opening”, said Clint laconically.

Now it was Wanda who chuckled. “I can imagine.”

The rest of the evening was pleasant and Elijah entertained the humans by telling them amusing stories from the past that he had experienced. It was special for the humans to hear stories like this from someone who had actually witnessed them.

And as for Elijah, it had been a long time since he had spent such a pleasant evening without any drama and with people, who knew what he was but didn’t fear him.

xxxxx

Elijah only said goodbye when dawn broke. Clint gave Elijah the burnerphone but he handed it back to Clint. “Keep it! Should you ever need help, call me!” He gave a fleeting smile. “I can't promise you that I'll be there, but I have a lot of contacts.” He turned to Wanda. “The same goes for you!”

“When I need help I will call you”, Clint said and Wanda nodded.

Elijah grew serious. “There is something else! When you live as long as I do, you see patterns and I don’t like, what I see and hear. I think, that there is trouble brewing for the Avengers and not only for them. It is concerning everyone, who is enhanced or different and I think that it will get very bad.

And I don't think this was the last time you heard of Hydra either. Be suspicious! Hydra has dug its way deep into the entire social structure and they have only one goal in mind, the suppression of freedom and absolute control.”

Elijah now looked at Laura too. “And the attempt to gain control can come from any direction, including your governments. Be careful and watchful, Clint! And when the time comes, be on the right side!”

“I will, Elijah”, Clint promised seriously.

The kitchen door popped open and then Elijah was gone.


End file.
